Karen Rindge of Raleigh, chairwoman of WakeUp Wake County, a private group that promotes managed growth, says the controversy over mandatory year-round public schools is a glaring symptom of the problems of uncontrolled growth.

"Right now, the taxpayers are paying for growth. We believe that the people who are benefiting from growth should pay their fair share: Realtors, homebuilders, and certainly newcomers. There's been a lack of leadership for good growth planning because of the influence of special interests. We would like to see more cooperation among cities and between cities and the county. All of our leaders need to be working together and thinking beyond their own borders. Maybe we need an interlocal agreement between the towns and the county about where to allow development."